Alright, any recently-released RPGs that are good?

[Haplo]

AoD
Underrail

Haven't played AoD yet. But Underrail is the correct answer for a prestigious turn based game connoisseur.

Best implementation of turn based combat systems in a crpg yet IMHO.

Insane attention to detail. Like personal energy shields having wildly different absorption values for 5 projectile speeds (Very Low - Melee, Low - Crossbows, Medium - Pistols, SMGs, High - Rifles, Very High - Energy weapons). With huge penetration bonuses for slow melee penetration (think Dune melee vs shields).
And you can build those Shield Emitters basing on Low/Medium/High Frequency modulators (with a secondary modulation slot!) to shape their behavior vs what you perceive as the primary threat.
Or armors consisting of armor base, various absorption layers/armor plates, overcoats.
Never before was single character combat so much fun.

 

[Lilura]

Underrail is the correct answer for a prestigious turn based game connoisseur.

Oh, laugh. You don't even have a squad.

 

[Haplo]

Underrail is the correct answer for a prestigious turn based game connoisseur.

Oh, laugh. You don't even have a squad.

Who cares?

Plus I seem to remember you like NWN. Do you have a squad there?

 

[Iznaliu]

Plus I seem to remember you like NWN. Do you have a squad there?

I think some stickers on the screen would be enough for some people.

 

[Ventidius]

Underrail is the correct answer for a prestigious turn based game connoisseur.

Oh, laugh. You don't even have a squad.

Who cares?

Plus I seem to remember you like NWN. Do you have a squad there?

Well, it is definetely a limitation. However, it is ironic that when it comes to tactical challenge, UR's combat is miles above contemporary RPGs that do implement party mechanics such as WL2, D:OS, and Dragonfall. Same could be said about AoD. It is hilarious that the modern RPGs with the best combat are both single character. That shows you the power of good encounter design and campaign balancing, plus there is all that mechanical nuance Haplo mentioned.

That said, I think Styg was smart to go in that direction. If he had tried to balance the game to keep it challenging for a full party he might well have ended up overstretching himself. Larian and inXile, however, have no excuse.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

AoD
Underrail

Haven't played AoD yet.

Lucky fuck.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Caves of Qud & Infra Arcana.

 

[Lilura]

Well, it is definetely a limitation. However, it is ironic that when it comes to tactical challenge, UR's combat is miles above contemporary RPGs that do implement party mechanics such as WL2, D:OS, and Dragonfall. Same could be said about AoD. It is hilarious that the modern RPGs with the best combat are both single character. That shows you the power of good encounter design and campaign balancing, plus there is all that mechanical nuance Haplo mentioned.

That said, I think Styg was smart to go in that direction. If he had tried to balance the game to keep it challenging for a full party he might well have ended up overstretching himself. Larian and inXile, however, have no excuse.

Bitch, please. Underrail is nothing compared to Jagged Alliance 2. Here, I've written on them both: Weak as piss | GOAT

Have fun with your Baby's 1st tactical rpg, soon with jetskis!

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Well, it is definetely a limitation. However, it is ironic that when it comes to tactical challenge, UR's combat is miles above contemporary RPGs that do implement party mechanics such as WL2, D:OS, and Dragonfall.

UR might have better combat than Daggerfall, but it's not better than WL2 and league beyong D:OS.

 

[Haplo]

Well, it is definetely a limitation. However, it is ironic that when it comes to tactical challenge, UR's combat is miles above contemporary RPGs that do implement party mechanics such as WL2, D:OS, and Dragonfall. Same could be said about AoD. It is hilarious that the modern RPGs with the best combat are both single character. That shows you the power of good encounter design and campaign balancing, plus there is all that mechanical nuance Haplo mentioned.

That said, I think Styg was smart to go in that direction. If he had tried to balance the game to keep it challenging for a full party he might well have ended up overstretching himself. Larian and inXile, however, have no excuse.

Bitch, please. Underrail is nothing compared to Jagged Alliance 2. Here, I've written on them both: Weak as piss | GOAT

Have fun with your Baby's 1st tactical rpg, soon with jetskis!

Lol. Can't manually initiate combat in Underrail? Push Enter. Learn2play before you criticize.
Plus you seem to have extremely limited options in your first encounters. The reason is two-fold. Obviously the game opens up and gives more options... or rather... floods you with them as you progress.
But also you apparently built a simplistic character. No psi, no granades, no traps, no throwing nets, not much crafting worth mentioning. Granades in particular easily solve many early issues. I liked the game much more when I supported my guns with PSI. But there are many ways to build the character. And certainly not all can afford the PSI investment (although there are certain no-save powers even 3 Will characters can benefit from).

 

[Ventidius]

Well, it is definetely a limitation. However, it is ironic that when it comes to tactical challenge, UR's combat is miles above contemporary RPGs that do implement party mechanics such as WL2, D:OS, and Dragonfall. Same could be said about AoD. It is hilarious that the modern RPGs with the best combat are both single character. That shows you the power of good encounter design and campaign balancing, plus there is all that mechanical nuance Haplo mentioned.

That said, I think Styg was smart to go in that direction. If he had tried to balance the game to keep it challenging for a full party he might well have ended up overstretching himself. Larian and inXile, however, have no excuse.

Bitch, please. Underrail is nothing compared to Jagged Alliance 2. Here, I've written on them both: Weak as piss | GOAT

Have fun with your Baby's 1st tactical rpg, soon with jetskis!

Well, duh. Goes without saying that it isn't as good as JA2(what is?), and Haplo did go overboard up there saying it was the best implementation of TB combat in RPGs. Well executed single character TB will always lose out to well-executed squad TB, but still wins against badly executed squad TB.

However, ITT we are discussing recent games, and of the recent TB crop, most of them have worse combat than Underrail. If the latter is baby's tactician RPG, it still looks like fucking 1.13 on Insane compared to the combat in D:OS or WL2.

 

[Haplo]

I'm curious which squad TB games have more depth then URR? Even better if they are somewhat recent.

JA2? Sure. But it's debatable whether it's an cRPG.
ToEE? Not in my opinion.

What else is out there that I've missed?

 

[Ventidius]

I'm curious which squad TB games have more depth then URR? Even better if they are somewhat recent.

JA2? Sure. But it's debatable whether it's an cRPG.
ToEE? Not in my opinion.

What else is out there that I've missed?

Goldbox, KOTC, BaK. Dark Sun, Proudfoot games and Voidspire Tactics are arguably contenders as well. Haven't played Alvora Tactics, but if it is anything at all like Voidspire, maybe that as well.

There are also some oldies with good reputation that I haven't tried like Aethra Chronicles and Disciples of Steel that are supposedly great as well.

Blackguards had potential but was poorly balanced and too easy to break, even compared to the others.

Low Magic Age looks like it has potential, but it is pretty much an incomplete dnd combat engine at this point.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Couldn't get into Underrail at all, starting difficulty was too high. The starter pistol they give you takes 4-5 shots to kill anything, assuming you don't miss, and the starter enemies can kill you easily all by themselves, let alone in groups of 3 or 4. There's also no opportunity to grind for resources, no real option to get better items or weapons, or better armor, etc. Just spending all your money on grenades and bombing your way through a cave does not good tactics make.

Compare that to the Fallouts, starter enemies are weak, only a threat in groups, die in one or two shots, and the player can head out to the world map to grind for extra XP, money, items, etc. Lots of early options for quests, not forced directly into a cave with densely packed monsters without the equipment to properly handle their attacks. On top of that you have the called shot system, companions who can fight with you, take extra hits, deploy greater force, etc.

Underrail seems to be a resource-management game. That's old school in a lot of ways but deciding how much to spend to "buy" your way through each fight isn't very fun.

(Finally I'm sure someone will say "Use a different build;" why should I? If a basic gun/tech character can't make it through the game, I don't want to play it).

 

[Grampy_Bone]

I'm curious which squad TB games have more depth then URR? Even better if they are somewhat recent.

JA2? Sure. But it's debatable whether it's an cRPG.
ToEE? Not in my opinion.

What else is out there that I've missed?

ToEE for sure, divinity: OS has WAY more options than Underrail. Underrail's depth seems to mostly be on the build side; actual combat tactics are pretty simplistic.

Fuck, a single battle in The Magic Candle is deeper than Shoot/Heal/Shoot/Heal like Underrail.

 

[Lhynn]

Bitch, please. Underrail is nothing compared to Jagged Alliance 2. Here, I've written on them both: Weak as piss | GOAT

Have fun with your Baby's 1st tactical rpg, soon with jetskis!

J2 isnt an RPG, and its old as shit and doesnt really quality as "contemporary", he is right.

 

[Jacob]

Grampy_Bone

On one hand I do agree that D: OS has more options than Underrail, but aren't you limiting your playstyle too much on Underrail? You have stealth and melee and poisons and ice magics and you decided that the only way to play is to bomb your way through the cave?

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Grampy_Bone

On one hand I do agree that D: OS has more options than Underrail, but aren't you limiting your playstyle too much on Underrail? You have stealth and melee and poisons and ice magics and you decided that the only way to play is to bomb your way through the cave?

Perhaps, but I can't even get to the options if I can't get past the stupid rat-dogs and psychic-bugs. Stealth doesn't work, the monsters are too densely packed, at most it lets me avoid one or two guys, but when I get discovered they all show up.

Melee is no good, can't hit anything, no skill points, nowhere to grind. It's forward or bust. I could restart, but it's pretty lame that a build is this bad before any sort of real build can actually be achieved. If you need a minimum X melee points just to survive the beginning, the game should either give you the minimum melee points by default (like Fallout does) or make it clear a pure ranged character isn't viable.

Besides that, I don't even think grenades are the panacea other people make them out to be at this point. No skill means they miss a lot, so it's reloads ahoy, and they're quite expensive. I think I can afford 4 or 5 with my current funds.

Not worth it. I just don't have the patience for this sort of trial-and-error gameplay. Older games aren't even this rough; except maybe Arcanum. That game requires a mandatory melee point investment just to avoid stabbing yourself in the eye with your own dagger. Don't be like Arcanum.

 

[Roguey]

Couldn't get into Underrail at all, starting difficulty was too high. The starter pistol they give you takes 4-5 shots to kill anything, assuming you don't miss, and the starter enemies can kill you easily all by themselves, let alone in groups of 3 or 4. There's also no opportunity to grind for resources, no real option to get better items or weapons, or better armor, etc. Just spending all your money on grenades and bombing your way through a cave does not good tactics make.

Compare that to the Fallouts, starter enemies are weak, only a threat in groups, die in one or two shots, and the player can head out to the world map to grind for extra XP, money, items, etc. Lots of early options for quests, not forced directly into a cave with densely packed monsters without the equipment to properly handle their attacks. On top of that you have the called shot system, companions who can fight with you, take extra hits, deploy greater force, etc.

Underrail seems to be a resource-management game. That's old school in a lot of ways but deciding how much to spend to "buy" your way through each fight isn't very fun.

(Finally I'm sure someone will say "Use a different build;" why should I? If a basic gun/tech character can't make it through the game, I don't want to play it).

Jeez, I complained very much about Underrail's starting area because the RNG gave me a plinky stealth pistol, but I wouldn't describe the combat as excessively difficult, just too spongey. You're doing something wrong.

Use fences as chokepoints, kite, get rathounds around an explosive barrel and take 'em all out, remember that you can be a degenerate and backtrack to the medical level for free healing.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

We're talking about the same area and the same shitty starter pistol.

Look, it's fine, I'm not saying its a horrible game or anything, I just don't find it very fun at all. I like games with more freedom to explore, level up, and grind a bit.

 

[toro]

If a basic gun/tech character can't make it through the game, I don't want to play it.

Starting equipment is randomized ... so, maybe you got a shitty pistol. But Gun/Tech is probably one of the most common builds in UR.

Pistol is not enough for late game but you can clear half the game with it (except one location infested with Burrowers and probably the Rat King).

 

[Haplo]

I'm curious which squad TB games have more depth then URR? Even better if they are somewhat recent.

JA2? Sure. But it's debatable whether it's an cRPG.
ToEE? Not in my opinion.

What else is out there that I've missed?

Goldbox, KOTC, BaK. Dark Sun, Proudfoot games and Voidspire Tactics are arguably contenders as well. Haven't played Alvora Tactics, but if it is anything at all like Voidspire, maybe that as well.

There are also some oldies with good reputation that I haven't tried like Aethra Chronicles and Disciples of Steel that are supposedly great as well.

Blackguards had potential but was poorly balanced and too easy to break, even compared to the others.

Low Magic Age looks like it has potential, but it is pretty much an incomplete dnd combat engine at this point.

Thank you for the reply.

GoldBox, KotC I haven't played. Might get around to KotC eventually.
BaK: A good game, but please remove your nostalgia goggles. Combat doesn't compare to URR complexity.
DrakSun: I really don't remember them being very complex or interesting combat-wise?
The further ones I didn't play also.
Blackguards I wasn't impressed about from my short time with that game.

So yeah, so far... ToEE. I strongly disliked the patched version I once tried to play. Tiny characters, very difficult to control UI. Also kept crashing. I hardly managed to leave the initial area. Maybe I need to look for another version/put more effort.

 

[Falksi]

Shadowrun Hong Kong,Expedition Vikings,The Dwarves,Eisenwald,Avadon 3,Ember,The Warlock of Firemountain,The Technomancerm,Witcher 3 goty,Banner Saga 1 and 2,Sorcery!,7 Mages,Balrum and The Quest.
Or you could just look here :https://games.gamepressure.com/?PLA=1&KAT=6&CZA=2&SOR=2

Top list, thansk for posting. Hadn't even heard of half these games, and just nabbed Ember for £1.74

The Technomancer is my personaly fave PS4 game so far. Criminally underrated, it's got it's flaws & shit side but boy does it hit the spot when you get into it's groove.

 

[fantadomat]

Shadowrun Hong Kong,Expedition Vikings,The Dwarves,Eisenwald,Avadon 3,Ember,The Warlock of Firemountain,The Technomancerm,Witcher 3 goty,Banner Saga 1 and 2,Sorcery!,7 Mages,Balrum and The Quest.
Or you could just look here :https://games.gamepressure.com/?PLA=1&KAT=6&CZA=2&SOR=2

Top list, thansk for posting. Hadn't even heard of half these games, and just nabbed Ember for £1.74

The Technomancer is my personaly fave PS4 game so far. Criminally underrated, it's got it's flaws & shit side but boy does it hit the spot when you get into it's groove.

Thank you mate here a few more games that could catch your eyes.
Zenith-shitty game but with nice humour(subjective) and it is playable.
Cat quest-cheap fun easy going game.Perfect for relaxation and chilling,it just came out.
Mages of Mystralia-it is adventure game with very good spell system.It lets you create your own spells in way.I would recommend check it out.
Tale of Wuxia is a Chinese kung fu rpg game with ton of different content.It is strange mishmash of genres,it is very interesting game.Only negative that i can come up is that it is time based.If you want to go trough all the side quest in one go,you need to use a trainer.If you don't then it have replayability value.
Hope that you have fun playing them .

 

[Lilura]

JA2? Sure. But it's debatable whether it's an cRPG.

It doesn't limit itself to shitty cRPGness and takes a dump on your Baby's First Underrail in every conceivable way. Read my "Features I'm Fond of" section to learn about the greatness of the game, because you're oblivious.

Also, lrn2 read footnotes. My write-up for Underrail is better than what you could have written, you useless oxygen-robbing fanboy.